Innholdsfortegnelse for May 2018 i Family Handyman

 FAST AND POWERFUL A SAW FOR THE AGES When I was a framing carpenter in Denver back in the day, pulling a mammoth “worm-drive” saw out of your truck and going to work was the sign you’d reached the big leagues. These monsters required Popeye forearms and a diet of canned spinach to operate, but they could cut through anything and were virtually indestructible. The DeWalt 60-volt MAX circular saw (model DCS575T2) is the cordless equivalent of these vintage brutes. It has a lot to love. Like all worm-drive saws, the left-side blade position makes it easy to see your cutting line. It’s a workhorse: The 60-volt battery coupled with DeWalt’s thin-kerf FLEXVOLT blade (specifically designed for cordless saws) creates a saw that’s fast and powerful. It can churn…

BUILD A WELDING TABLE  Admit it: You’ve always wanted to learn how to weld. This pro will show you how. Welding intimidates a lot of people, even some of us hardcore DIYers. And that’s a shame because welding opens up a whole new world of household repairs and cool projects. We asked a pro welder to demonstrate some basic techniques by building a welding table. She’ll walk you through each step and provide helpful tips along the way. A metal welding table is the perfect project to start with because you can build all your future welding projects on it. The materials will cost about $160. This table was built using a Lincoln 210MP. This machine can function as a MIG (metal inert gas/wire feed) welder, a TIG (tungsten inert…

Mini-split systems What is a mini-split? Mini-split systems are A/C and heating units that are increasingly popular, mainly because most installations don’t require ductwork. Similar to conventional HVAC systems, mini-splits have an outdoor condenser and one or more air handlers inside. They’re somewhat like a window A/C unit split in half—hence the name. How does a mini-split work? Like a conventional A/C unit, a mini-split uses copper tubing to carry the refrigerant from the outdoor unit, which contains the compressor and condenser, to the indoor air handler. But with a mini-split, the conditioned air blows directly out of the indoor air handler into the room, rather than being routed through ductwork. A typical compressor can run four or five air handlers, which are mounted in different zones (or rooms)…

 LIFE ON THE EDGE One Small Step… This bathtub must have been installed in a tightrope walker’s house. Just think about turning on the water to fill the tub, then walking the ledge to get in. After your bath, you’d be getting out with wet feet on 8 in. of slippery tile. Talk about a fast trip down the stairs!  WEAK LINK MISSED THE STUD Drywall anchors are the hardware of choice for hanging pictures and mirrors, but handrails need more support. The installer of this rail either didn’t bother to find a stud or miscalculated the location of the handrail bracket. THE RIGHT WAY: Find and mark the studs with masking tape. Then hold the handrail in position and mark where the brackets should be mounted so they’ll align…

Solution 1: TURN ON VALVES AT BACKFLOW DEVICE Low water pressure will result in the sprinkler heads barely shooting water. In extreme cases, many of the heads won’t even pop up. Start with the easiest solution. Make sure the valves at the backflow device are fully open. The backflow device is located above ground, with the valve at least 12 in. above the highest sprinkler head in the yard. Most backflow devices have two valves, one on the horizontal pipe and one on the vertical. Turn the valves to their open positions as shown. The valve is open when the handle is parallel with the pipe. Solution 2: FIND AND REPAIR LEAKS Check for leaks in the water line. Look for a series of sprinkler heads that aren’t watering properly.…

RIDGID R09890K $298 This is a ruggedly built tool with the advantage of Ridgid’s lifetime warranty. We like the transparent magazine cover and the two styles of no-mar tips that Ridgid supplies so you can choose your favorite. DEWALT DCN680D1 $299 This nailer appears to be nearly identical to the Bostitch. Both nailers drove 2-in. brads consistently into solid oak and worked perfectly in our testing. MILWAUKEE 2741-21CT $399 From the sleek, compact body to the precision brad-depth adjuster, this tool has a high-quality feel. Our only gripe is that the view of the tip is obscured by the jam-release lever. The nailer responds instantly and performed well in our testing. BOSTITCH BCN680D1 $299 This nailer has a flywheel-type drive system that revs up as soon as you press down…

KEEP COOL WITH SHADE Shade from trees, trellises and vines blocks direct sunlight through windows, which is responsible for about half the heat gain in your home. Carefully positioned trees and horizontal trellises on the east and west sides can save up to 30 percent of a household’s energy consumption for heating and cooling. EMERGENCY ROOF PATCH A section of flashing is the perfect patch for smaller holes, which are often caused by blown-down tree branches. Slide the flashing under the shingles above the hole and nail down the exposed corners of the flashing. Don’t forget to caulk around the hole and the nail heads. Special roof sealant is best, but any type of caulk is better than nothing. Resurface bad walls You can patch cracks in plaster walls, but…

PORCH BELLY FLOP I’m an emergency medical technician with our local Volunteer Rescue Squad. I’ve always prided myself on being able to get up and out the door within two minutes of a call—even after a tough day of major renovation on my house. At 2:30 one morning, I got the alert and was out of bed, rescue shirt on, boots pulled up and flying out the door—literally. I was in midair when I remembered that my dad and I had ripped most of the old porch off my house just hours before. I did a heck of a belly flop onto the gravel driveway. As I pulled into the rescue station and hobbled into the ambulance, my partner asked, “How’s the new deck going?” and “Do you need an…

 Just think of it—a tool storage system for your garage or shop that you can endlessly reconfigure to accommodate all your tools. They’ll be right at your fingertips whenever you need them. And when it’s time to straighten up at the end of the day, you’ll know right where everything goes, making cleanup quick and easy. How much you spend depends not only on the size of your storage wall but also on the level of finish you’re after. We spent about $500 on the materials for our wall, but you could build it for about half the price by using 3/4-in. CDX construction plywood. WHAT IT TAKES TIME: 2 weekends as shown COST: $500 as shown (about $10 per square foot) SKILL LEVEL: Intermediate TOOLS: Miter saw, table saw, drill/driver What…

When you’re staring at a yard full of grass that desperately needed cutting two weeks ago, the last thing you want is a lawn mower engine that won’t fire up. Before you have a heart attack pulling on the starter rope of your lawn mower (or in the winter, snow blower), check the fuel and carburetor. They’re the root cause of more than 80 percent of all no-starts. I’ll walk you through the steps to identify the source of the problem. You’ll need hand tools and a socket set, a can of carburetor cleaner and an air compressor. And you’ll likely have to make a trip for parts. But after an hour of effort, you might just have a working engine, and you’ll have saved a bundle by fixing it…

You may already know how to reset a circuit breaker, but you’re not always around. Show everyone in your household where the main panel is and post this guide near it. 1 Don’t worry! All the dangerous parts are behind the breaker switches. You can’t get a shock by flipping breaker switches. 2 Find the tripped breaker Open the panel’s door and look for the breaker switch that’s out of line with the others. It will be about midway between the “off” and “on” positions. You may have to look closely to spot it. 3 Reset the breaker To reset a breaker, move the switch all the way to its “off” position, then back to “on.” You might hear a few beeps from smoke detectors and appliances when you turn…